Coming Home
Title: Coming Home
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom(s): CW RPS
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 20K+
Summary: Jensen Ackles may be the smartest man in the universe, but it took empath Jared Padalecki to help Jensen figure out what was important in life. It’s not easy though and when Jared gets as assignment that will take him away from the space station they call home, Jensen doesn’t take it well. When unexpected circumstances put the shuttle in danger, Jensen has to pull himself together because it will take more than his intelligence to get Jared back.
Warnings/Spoilers: graphic sex
Artist:
deadflowers5
Jared Padalecki woke from his nice peaceful sleep to the pulsing confusion and frustration of another person. Jared knew what it was when he woke. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, nor would it be the last. There were a lot of benefits to being an empath but this wasn’t one of them.
Except when it was.
“Jensen?” he mumbled, trying to figure out why Jensen had suddenly ported into his room. It didn’t happen often anymore. Jared made sure Jensen slept most nights and it was only when Jensen was really tired that he accidently teleported himself to where he needed to be.
Jared reached out with his other ability, turning the light switch on with his telekinesis. He’d rarely used the ability beyond training before he met Jensen but it was a nice little trick when he didn’t want to get out of bed to check on his wayward lover.
“Jared?” Jensen asked as he blinked back at Jared. He took a few minutes to realize where he was and Jared just waited for Jensen to catch up. Jensen was the smartest man in the universe - the man could literally out think the computers on the space station where they lived - but he was always disoriented when it came to teleporting. Jared thought it was because Jensen only did it when he was too tired to fight the instinct but Jensen only rarely practiced it otherwise. His location was dead on when he ported but he hated to do it. He preferred to travel by other means and the disorientation he felt afterwards - and that Jared felt through him - made Jared more lenient with his lover than he might otherwise be.
When Jensen’s eyes finally turned back to Jared instead of surveying their bedroom Jared pulled the blankets down beside him in invitation. Jensen began stripping his shirt off but Jared could see his lover’s head was elsewhere.
“I didn’t think you’d be back tonight,” Jared confessed through a yawn as he settled in bed, watching Jensen. He was too tired for anything more than the perusal but Jensen’s body was always something to be admired.
When Jensen looked at him though, the green of his eyes danced with movement and Jared knew he was checking in with the experiments he was overseeing. “I shouldn’t be,” Jensen confessed. “I just … its right there.”
Jensen undid his pants and let them fall to the floor and Jared nodded though he didn’t know exactly what Jensen was talking about. It was part of who they were; this need for Jared and Jensen to be close when things were too much. Jensen was not only the smartest man in the universe, but the strongest technopath as well and his talents made him an extremely busy man on a scientific space station. It also made him anti-social and when things felt out of control he was impossible to deal with. At least, he had been until Jared came around. When they met Jared had been amused by Jensen’s bluntness. After a few incidents where Jensen had shown up around Jared with the same distorted confusion, Jared’s boss had pointed out that the strongest of the Gifted tended to ground themselves in other people. When Jared had asked who Jensen had grounded himself in, Jeff had just laughed, the bastard.
They worked well though, Jensen and Jared, and in the two years since they’d met Jared never regretted letting Jensen into his life. Jensen might be blunt and overly-focused on work at times, but when he turned that focus on Jared there was nothing else in the world for him.
“You’ll find the answer,” Jared said softly, reaching for Jensen. Jensen crawled into bed beside Jared and let his lover pull him in close. Jared knew his lover’s head was still in the computers - he could feel the movement of it in his head when he tried to sense Jensen’s frustrations - but Jensen was curling himself up into the curves of Jared’s body.
“I’m not tired. I should be in the lab,” Jensen said, placing a soft kiss on Jared’s neck. “Should be trying to figure out why Jenkins is falling out of the margins.” Another kiss right behind his ear and Jared could feel Jensen’s hand begin to run down his side. “But since I’m here.”
Jared laughed lightly at Jensen’s words and found he was wide awake suddenly. When he pulled Jensen up for a proper kiss, his lover was smiling and Jared couldn’t regret the lack of sleep he’d have the next day. There were worse ways to ground his gifted lover and Jared was more than happy to oblige.
“Guess we can work it out while you’re here,” Jared offered.
Jensen bit his lower lip as he pushed Jared onto his back and moved to straddle him. “Work something out anyway,” Jensen said with a grin as he leaned back in for Jared’s kiss. “Rest of the team can wait until morning for their answer.”
When Jensen returned to the lab the next morning he had the answer. When Jared went to work the next morning he had a distinct problem staying awake. The people who knew them best knew there was a correlation but they were smart enough not to mention it.
“The fences are back. I can’t sleep with fences. Every time I look out the window there are fences. Fences are meant to keep things in. Or out. My brain does not need a stop gag.”
Alona Tal, the strongest hydrokinetic in the known universe, almost shot water out her nose and the man beside her didn’t even notice.
“The dogs don’t need a fence either,” her companion said as he dug his fork into his meal, completely absorbed in his conversation. “They need a park. Why doesn’t he build a park instead? He could have a big dog park but with a bench on the side under a shade tree where we can watch them.”
“Jensen, you do remember that this is all in your head, right?”
Jensen scowled at her. “Potato, Po-ta-to.”
“Jared doesn’t really live in your head.” Alona said with a grin.
“I’ll take the virtual reality in my head over anything you’ve got.”
Alona shook her head as she watched Jensen. She didn’t understand the way Jensen saw the world and she certainly didn’t understand this virtual reality in his head. Jared seemed to get it and even teased Jensen about it, sometimes making comments about things that happened in Jensen’s head that made no sense to anyone else but would have Jensen staring at Jared with wide eyed wonder. It didn’t change the fact that Jensen could obsess over what he was seeing there and he dismissed other people’s dreams without batting an eye.
“How does Jared put up with you?” she asked with a shake of her head. She knew. She loved Jensen and he was her closest friend on the station, but some days the man was more infuriating than she knew what to do with. She really didn’t know how Jared could live with the man and not want to strangle him on a constant basis.
“I blow him often.”
“Jensen! I did not want to know that!” Alona admonished, not surprised by Jensen’s bluntness but storing the words away until she could tell Jared. The shade of red he would turn would be epic.
“I don’t mind hearing about it,” a voice from behind called out.
Alona sighed as she watched Misha Collins sit down at the table with them. “Misha, don’t encourage him.”
Misha Collins was the administrator of the Vortex Space Station and one of the most respected men on the station. He worked hard, always had time for the concerns of the community he oversaw, and he was a loving and caring husband. For reasons no one understood, Misha had met Jensen Ackles in his initial interview to join the first group of scientists on the station and Misha had decided Jensen was the most interesting person he’d ever met. Alona could think of a number of people she wouldn’t mind spending time with besides Jensen. He was her best friend - stars help her if Jensen ever heard her say it - but the man could make the tides change course with his stubbornness and obtuseness when it came to social interactions and it was usually Alona who had to sooth the ruffled feathers of the science community when it happened.
“Fine. You can listen to him bitch about the dogs and fences and the swimming pool in the back yard of the house in his head,” Alona huffed.
“Ah,” Misha said with a knowing nod. “Jared, again?”
Jensen’s eyes softened, the curve of his mouth turning up in small, fond smile at the mention of his lover’s name. And right there was why Alona listened to it at all, because after eight years of working on the station with Jensen, Jared was the only one that seemed to sooth Jensen’s sharp edges.
“Jeff wants to have dinner with you two sometime next week,” Alona mentioned to Jensen before Misha could take over the conversation and get Jensen to tangent on something like the amount of candy in the kitchen of his virtual home. She didn’t need to hear another conversation about the pros and cons of whipping cream versus ice cream in Misha and Jensen’s sex life. “Is there a night you don’t have to have your head buried in the computer to keep an eye on an experiment?”
Jensen’s eyes changed and the sharp jade that usually stared out at her began moving, like lines of light dancing over his retina. Alona was convinced if someone just recorded the motion of his eyes they’d find out that Jensen’s brain really did translate everything into binary.
“Tuesday,” Jensen said quietly. It was almost too soft to hear; Jensen’s mind was in the computer bank somewhere and his attention wasn’t with them enough to know how quietly he was speaking. She preferred the whisper to the times he would yell though. “Jared is free too.”
Jensen looked at her then and Alona smiled. “Good. I’ll tell Jeff to work it out with Jared.”
“Any particular reason?” Jensen asked.
Alona looked at him for a moment then sighed. “How can you be the smartest man in the universe and not know how to look at a freaking calendar?”
“I just used the calendar,” Jensen said with a frown.
“You do realize that your anniversary is coming up in two weeks, right?” When Jensen just stared at her she sighed. “Two years ago you and Jared finally figured it all out … happy couple … remember all that?”
Jensen blinked. “No. That’s not… No.”
Alona huffed. “Blow jobs aren’t enough for this shit, no matter how your lips look.” Jensen’s eyes went wide in surprise, not at her language but at the tendril of anger that was real in her words. He had no empathic abilities but eight years working hand in hand in the science lab had given him a little insight into her moods and Alona hoped it helped him realize she meant every word she said. “Two years, Jensen. Last year you were so caught up in Mather’s experiment that you forgot to have dinner with Jared. He let it go because he loves you but I’m not so forgiving. I really like Jared and Jeff thinks he hangs the damn moon when it comes to their patients so you better get your act together. Heavens help me if you don’t do something nice for your boyfriend this year, I will make sure you never get another hot shower again.”
Jensen gasped, because everyone knew how much he loved a long hot shower, and Misha just tilted his head to the side slightly. “Can you actually do that?”
Alona stood up and turned on her heels to walk away. She turned to look back at them, her smile sharp as she threw out, “Just try me.”
Jared stood on the observation platform and stared down into the maelstrom that was the largest science unit on Vortex. Jared knew his way around and he could find the men and women he needed to see but in the two years he'd been on the station he'd still never been able to figure out the organization of the experiments, tables, and equipment. He’d given up pretty quickly when he realized everything changed without warning whenever an experiment came to an end and space was gained/lost/moved/elevated to accommodate the ever changing science community. Today though - as often happened when Jared came into the lab - Jared's eyes were at the center of that storm.
Jensen Ackles; the man who ran the largest physics lab on the station and the man everyone wanted to get a minute with.
Jensen was surrounded by a group of men in white lab coats. They were talking fast, taking advantage of Jensen's undivided attention. Jared could only see Jensen from the side but he smiled anyway, taking in his lover’s strong profile. He and Jensen had been together almost as long as Jared had been on the space station. They met the first night Jared had come aboard and it was only a few weeks before he was completely, hopelessly in love with the scientist.
Jared had joined the vortex because of the importance of the work they did as well as the fact that it played into his own calling. Jared was a psychologist who specialized in long term space placement. The other endorsement that Vortex had that his other job offers hadn’t was the space station’s inclusive policies. It still surprised Jared some days to witness the different number of Gifted that walked the station’s halls. Jared had been intrigued by the station's inclusive policies towards typical humans and those with extraordinary abilities. Most places segregated the Gifted population into different living quarters and social clubs but the administrator of the Vortex station refused to do so. Misha Collins made sure that everyone got along and Jared counted himself lucky to have the man as a friend.
The men around Jensen dispersed with a nod from Jensen and suddenly Jared was looking into the intensity of Jensen’s gaze. He swallowed against the lump that formed in his throat from the sheer affection that Jensen felt when he recognized Jared from across the room.
Alona and Jeff teased him about his relationship with Jensen and Jared took it all in stride. Jensen wasn’t the easiest man to get to know, let alone to love, but they worked and no matter how rough Jensen’s personal skills were, nothing could take away the rush Jared got whenever he felt what Jensen felt for him.
It was more than that tonight though. As strong an empath as Jared was, Jensen had somehow found a way to use his own natural abilities to shield himself. When Jared pushed too hard to feel what Jensen was doing he came up against a wall of motion that made him nauseous. There was none of that tonight though and Jared knew Jensen was letting his guard down on purpose.
Then Jensen was smiling up at him and Jared was defenseless against it. He raised his hand in a pathetic wave that had to make him look like the lovesick sap that he was. Jensen grinned larger and Jared took a deep breath, etching the moment in his head.
“Stars, you two are sickening,” Alona said behind him. He felt his face flush as he dropped Jensen’s gaze and turned to look at his friend. She was smiling at him though and she wrapped an arm around his waist. “You here to take him off my hands for the night?” she asked.
He kissed the top of her head and answered into her hair. “Yeah. Figured you had enough to do tonight without having Jensen to shoo out of the lab at closing time.”
“Like he’d leave if I tried. I still don’t know how you manage to get him out of here.”
Jared laughed because she was still teasing him about Jensen’s blow job comment two weeks before. “I let him blow me a lot.”
Somehow, when Jared said it in her ear like that it made her blush and it was always nice to get one up on Alona. Jensen was far too free about their personal lives with her and she got to hear all of Jensen’s oddities over the course of the work day. It used to bother Jared that Jensen would talk to her like that, but over time Jared came to realize it was the best thing that could happen to them. Alona wasn’t above telling Jensen off for his lack of social grace and she told Jared the little things Jensen commented on that Jared would never have heard any other way. Like how Jensen had been afraid Jared would say no if he asked him to move in with him and how Jared asking him had meant something to Jensen.
“I hate you, Jared. I don’t know how Jeff deals with you.”
“Hey!” Jensen walked up the steps to the observation platform where Alona and Jared were talking. “Go get your own psychologist to torment.”
“Fine, I will.” Alona said as she disentangled herself from Jared’s side. “He still at the office?” she asked Jared for confirmation of her husband’s whereabouts.
“He seemed to think he was going to be working late tonight,” Jared confirmed. He loved Alona to pieces and her husband had the same easy going attitude that she did, though Jared would admit in his own head that Alona was far scarier than his boss. “You’ll take care of that right?”
Alona smiled but she didn’t say anything else as she walked away.
“You ready to get out of here?” Jensen asked Jared as he stepped closer. He brushed his lips lightly over Jared’s, surprising him with the public show of affection. It wasn’t a secret that Jared and Jensen were together, but Jensen wasn’t always aware that other people might want to hold hands in public or to share a kiss that wasn’t meant to lead to anything more.
Jared grinned as he looked down into his lover’s eyes. “Yeah, let’s go home.”
As they walked back from the science lab, Jensen decided they needed to stop for dinner. He pulled Jared into a new restaurant, something nice and more upscale than they normally went to. Jared let Jensen spoil him though, even though he knew Jensen didn’t remember that it was their anniversary. Two years ago they’d finally stopped dancing around the bond that had obviously grown between them and admitted to their growing attraction. It didn’t bother Jared that Jensen didn’t remember that sort of thing. Alona was Jensen’s best friend and it bothered her to no end though. How she managed to put up with him over the years was beyond Jared. She was Jensen’s greatest supporter, the one who cared for him when Jared couldn’t, and was the hardest on Jensen when it came to his shortcomings in his social interactions; especially his relationship with Jared. Jared understood how Jensen felt about him though so a missed anniversary didn’t matter to him. Not when Jensen was so damn good at expressing his affection for Jared in other ways.
Tonight was a perfect example as Jensen led them to a quiet corner in the back of the restaurant. Jared picked a bottle of wine for them to share and they settled into an easy meal together. Jensen took extra care to ask about Jared’s day and his work. It was one of the social niceties that Jensen wasn’t very good at. He loved Jared without doubt, but Jared had been frustrated more than once with Jensen’s inability to realize that some nights Jared needed Jensen to ask him about his work too.
It was common among the Gifted, with the exception of empaths and telepaths, to get too caught up in their own work that they forgot people around them had different wants and needs than they did. It was why most places segregated the population. Relationships between two Gifted people were more successful than mixed relationships simply because the talented tended to understand one another better. Jared had seen it in harsher light though and he’d had to deal with anti-talent hatred a few times. It was one of the reasons Jared had taken the job on Vortex. A fully integrated community was an experiment he wanted to see firsthand, and a blessing if it truly ran as well as everyone swore it had. And it did.
Dinner was delicious and Jensen was perfectly attentive. He told Jared stories about the other people in the lab but steered clear of any talk about their experiments. Jared listened to Jensen’s stories and shared his own and they laughed together.
They didn’t get the chance to do this often anymore. Jared’s schedule was full and Jensen was buried in the science lab late into most evenings. Jensen had plenty of his own experiments in the works, but as the head of the lab and the unit of scientists Jensen needed all the hours of the day to complete his work. Quite often, Jared had to go down to the lab and drag him home. Jensen used to stay in the labs for days on end, only going home to sleep a few hours every few nights and that was all his body needed. When Jared had come into Jensen’s life though, he’d demanded that Jensen spend time with him every night. It put a damper on Jensen’s productivity a little, but he normally returned to the lab with a renewed vigor - and improved attitude - so no one commented.
It had also lowered the number of times that Jensen randomly ported himself into Jared’s room without notice. Those nights, though scarce now, generally ended with no sleep but with Jensen wrapped around Jared in the dying light of the morning and Jared loved that it was his touch that comforted Jensen.
Tonight though there seemed to be no hurry as they ordered desert together and finished off a second bottle of wine. On the way home they walked leisurely through the park and to Jared’s surprise, Jensen held his hand the entire time.
When they got home, Jensen took his time stripping Jared of his clothes, leaving them in a trail from the living room into the bedroom. He lavished Jared with attention, covering every inch of Jared’s body with his fingers before he followed the path with his lips. When he pushed Jared back onto the bed Jensen followed, kissing him for so long Jared began to think they were just going to make out all night. He was fine with that, really because when Jensen devoted himself to something it was amazing, but then Jensen slid down his body, licking and biting his way down Jared’s torso.
“Keep this up long, Jensen, and I’m not going to last,” Jared breathed as Jensen licked at the base of his cock.
“Better make it short and sweet then,” Jensen said as he swallowed Jared’s cock down his throat. Jared bucked into the heat of his lover’s mouth and Jensen just took it, looking up at Jared with eyes that screamed mischief. Jared clawed at the sheets but before he could warn that he was close, Jensen pulled off. He climbed out of bed and slowly stripped his clothes off. All Jared could think about was getting his hands on Jensen but his lover was taking his time. Jared swallowed back the lust that wanted him to get out of bed and take Jensen up against the wall; instead, watching as Jensen dropped his pants to the floor, leaving him completely naked.
“Remember the first time, Jared?” Jensen asked slowly, crawling up Jared’s legs until he could kneel over Jared.
“You going to ride me again, Jensen?” he asked, breathlessly. Two years ago, when they’d made love for the first time, Jared had woken to find Jensen cooking them breakfast. He hadn’t know how Jensen had gotten into his room or when he had, but when confronted Jared had learned that Jensen had slipped into his bed to sleep. They were both past denying the bond that had developed between them then. Jeff and Alona had stayed on the two of them, making sure they understood that Jensen had reached out to Jared on some level to help ground himself against the powers that ruled him and that Jared had accepted that bond. The confrontation had ended with Jared on his back and Jensen - slicked open by his own hand in Jared’s shower while he’d slept - riding him.
Jensen smiled and it went all the way to his eyes, lines appearing at the side of each and Jared could stare into those eyes forever. “Just like the first time,” he said, taking Jared’s cock in hand as he began sliding down it.
Jared tried to say something coherent, but Jensen was already opened up and the image of Jensen fucking himself open to get ready for Jared made all the blood rush to his dick instead of his brain. Jensen gave a satisfied moan as he settled down against Jared’s hips. “Love you, Jared,” he said softly, leaning forward to brush a kiss across Jared’s lips. He brought his hands to rest beside Jared’s head and then he started to move, pulling away from Jared’s body ever so slightly before pushing back onto his lover’s cock.
“Stars, Jensen, the things you do to me,” Jared breathed against Jensen’s lips as he wrapped his hand around the back of Jensen’s neck and pulled him in.
Jensen licked his lips and Jared joined him, licking across the seam until Jensen opened to him. It didn’t take long, with Jensen kissing him breathless and writhing on his lap, before Jared felt the buildup of pressure. He reached between them and began stroking Jensen’s cock but as he did so he let down the personal shields that he kept up for everyone else. He opened his mind to Jensen and he felt the overwhelming love and compassion Jensen had for him, felt his own emotions rebounding back on himself and as Jensen tipped over the edge and into orgasm, Jared slid with him until there was no thought that wasn’t about the pure sensation between the two of them.
When Jared was finally able to breathe again, he looked at Jensen and found his lover smiling down on him. He kissed Jared before climbing off of him and then he was cleaning him up. When he settled back into bed beside Jared, Jensen nuzzled up against Jared’s neck, his arm slung across Jared’s chest. Jared closed him eyes, letting one hand slowly caress up and down Jensen’s back while his other hand cradled the back of his head, playing lightly with his hair.
“Did you think I forgot?” Jensen asked as he pressed a kiss into the spot behind Jared’s ear.
“Forgot what?” Jared asked. He wasn’t entirely on the top of his game at that moment. It had been a long day, starting early with appointments and he was never able to think clearly after making love to Jensen.
Jensen chuckled softly against Jared’s skin before he sat up on one elbow and looked at his lover. “I do have a calendar.”
Jared looked up at him and smiled softly as he realized what Jensen was saying. “Yes, I know you have a calendar.”
“And I know how to use it,” Jensen said, the corners of his lips turning up into a smile.
“I would assume so, considering the fact that you are the smartest man in the universe and that you can access any computer on the station without having to get out of bed.”
Jensen leaned in and gave Jared a soft kiss. “Happy anniversary, Jared.”
Jared pulled him down on top of him and couldn’t help but laugh with Jensen. He brought their lips together, kissing him playfully and when Jensen finally leaned back they were both grinning like idiots. And the smile right there? That was why Jared put up with all the social ineptitude and the missed anniversaries that Jensen would never remember. Alona could complain about the things that Jensen lacked in social skills but there was nothing that could ever mean more to Jared than the smile on Jensen’s lips and the look in his eyes.
Jared brought his hand up to cup Jensen’s cheek and smiled. “Happy anniversary, Baby.”
On to Part II
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom(s): CW RPS
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 20K+
Summary: Jensen Ackles may be the smartest man in the universe, but it took empath Jared Padalecki to help Jensen figure out what was important in life. It’s not easy though and when Jared gets as assignment that will take him away from the space station they call home, Jensen doesn’t take it well. When unexpected circumstances put the shuttle in danger, Jensen has to pull himself together because it will take more than his intelligence to get Jared back.
Warnings/Spoilers: graphic sex
Artist:
deadflowers5
Jared Padalecki woke from his nice peaceful sleep to the pulsing confusion and frustration of another person. Jared knew what it was when he woke. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, nor would it be the last. There were a lot of benefits to being an empath but this wasn’t one of them.
Except when it was.
“Jensen?” he mumbled, trying to figure out why Jensen had suddenly ported into his room. It didn’t happen often anymore. Jared made sure Jensen slept most nights and it was only when Jensen was really tired that he accidently teleported himself to where he needed to be.
Jared reached out with his other ability, turning the light switch on with his telekinesis. He’d rarely used the ability beyond training before he met Jensen but it was a nice little trick when he didn’t want to get out of bed to check on his wayward lover.
“Jared?” Jensen asked as he blinked back at Jared. He took a few minutes to realize where he was and Jared just waited for Jensen to catch up. Jensen was the smartest man in the universe - the man could literally out think the computers on the space station where they lived - but he was always disoriented when it came to teleporting. Jared thought it was because Jensen only did it when he was too tired to fight the instinct but Jensen only rarely practiced it otherwise. His location was dead on when he ported but he hated to do it. He preferred to travel by other means and the disorientation he felt afterwards - and that Jared felt through him - made Jared more lenient with his lover than he might otherwise be.
When Jensen’s eyes finally turned back to Jared instead of surveying their bedroom Jared pulled the blankets down beside him in invitation. Jensen began stripping his shirt off but Jared could see his lover’s head was elsewhere.
“I didn’t think you’d be back tonight,” Jared confessed through a yawn as he settled in bed, watching Jensen. He was too tired for anything more than the perusal but Jensen’s body was always something to be admired.
When Jensen looked at him though, the green of his eyes danced with movement and Jared knew he was checking in with the experiments he was overseeing. “I shouldn’t be,” Jensen confessed. “I just … its right there.”
Jensen undid his pants and let them fall to the floor and Jared nodded though he didn’t know exactly what Jensen was talking about. It was part of who they were; this need for Jared and Jensen to be close when things were too much. Jensen was not only the smartest man in the universe, but the strongest technopath as well and his talents made him an extremely busy man on a scientific space station. It also made him anti-social and when things felt out of control he was impossible to deal with. At least, he had been until Jared came around. When they met Jared had been amused by Jensen’s bluntness. After a few incidents where Jensen had shown up around Jared with the same distorted confusion, Jared’s boss had pointed out that the strongest of the Gifted tended to ground themselves in other people. When Jared had asked who Jensen had grounded himself in, Jeff had just laughed, the bastard.
They worked well though, Jensen and Jared, and in the two years since they’d met Jared never regretted letting Jensen into his life. Jensen might be blunt and overly-focused on work at times, but when he turned that focus on Jared there was nothing else in the world for him.
“You’ll find the answer,” Jared said softly, reaching for Jensen. Jensen crawled into bed beside Jared and let his lover pull him in close. Jared knew his lover’s head was still in the computers - he could feel the movement of it in his head when he tried to sense Jensen’s frustrations - but Jensen was curling himself up into the curves of Jared’s body.
“I’m not tired. I should be in the lab,” Jensen said, placing a soft kiss on Jared’s neck. “Should be trying to figure out why Jenkins is falling out of the margins.” Another kiss right behind his ear and Jared could feel Jensen’s hand begin to run down his side. “But since I’m here.”
Jared laughed lightly at Jensen’s words and found he was wide awake suddenly. When he pulled Jensen up for a proper kiss, his lover was smiling and Jared couldn’t regret the lack of sleep he’d have the next day. There were worse ways to ground his gifted lover and Jared was more than happy to oblige.
“Guess we can work it out while you’re here,” Jared offered.
Jensen bit his lower lip as he pushed Jared onto his back and moved to straddle him. “Work something out anyway,” Jensen said with a grin as he leaned back in for Jared’s kiss. “Rest of the team can wait until morning for their answer.”
When Jensen returned to the lab the next morning he had the answer. When Jared went to work the next morning he had a distinct problem staying awake. The people who knew them best knew there was a correlation but they were smart enough not to mention it.
“The fences are back. I can’t sleep with fences. Every time I look out the window there are fences. Fences are meant to keep things in. Or out. My brain does not need a stop gag.”
Alona Tal, the strongest hydrokinetic in the known universe, almost shot water out her nose and the man beside her didn’t even notice.
“The dogs don’t need a fence either,” her companion said as he dug his fork into his meal, completely absorbed in his conversation. “They need a park. Why doesn’t he build a park instead? He could have a big dog park but with a bench on the side under a shade tree where we can watch them.”
“Jensen, you do remember that this is all in your head, right?”
Jensen scowled at her. “Potato, Po-ta-to.”
“Jared doesn’t really live in your head.” Alona said with a grin.
“I’ll take the virtual reality in my head over anything you’ve got.”
Alona shook her head as she watched Jensen. She didn’t understand the way Jensen saw the world and she certainly didn’t understand this virtual reality in his head. Jared seemed to get it and even teased Jensen about it, sometimes making comments about things that happened in Jensen’s head that made no sense to anyone else but would have Jensen staring at Jared with wide eyed wonder. It didn’t change the fact that Jensen could obsess over what he was seeing there and he dismissed other people’s dreams without batting an eye.
“How does Jared put up with you?” she asked with a shake of her head. She knew. She loved Jensen and he was her closest friend on the station, but some days the man was more infuriating than she knew what to do with. She really didn’t know how Jared could live with the man and not want to strangle him on a constant basis.
“I blow him often.”
“Jensen! I did not want to know that!” Alona admonished, not surprised by Jensen’s bluntness but storing the words away until she could tell Jared. The shade of red he would turn would be epic.
“I don’t mind hearing about it,” a voice from behind called out.
Alona sighed as she watched Misha Collins sit down at the table with them. “Misha, don’t encourage him.”
Misha Collins was the administrator of the Vortex Space Station and one of the most respected men on the station. He worked hard, always had time for the concerns of the community he oversaw, and he was a loving and caring husband. For reasons no one understood, Misha had met Jensen Ackles in his initial interview to join the first group of scientists on the station and Misha had decided Jensen was the most interesting person he’d ever met. Alona could think of a number of people she wouldn’t mind spending time with besides Jensen. He was her best friend - stars help her if Jensen ever heard her say it - but the man could make the tides change course with his stubbornness and obtuseness when it came to social interactions and it was usually Alona who had to sooth the ruffled feathers of the science community when it happened.
“Fine. You can listen to him bitch about the dogs and fences and the swimming pool in the back yard of the house in his head,” Alona huffed.
“Ah,” Misha said with a knowing nod. “Jared, again?”
Jensen’s eyes softened, the curve of his mouth turning up in small, fond smile at the mention of his lover’s name. And right there was why Alona listened to it at all, because after eight years of working on the station with Jensen, Jared was the only one that seemed to sooth Jensen’s sharp edges.
“Jeff wants to have dinner with you two sometime next week,” Alona mentioned to Jensen before Misha could take over the conversation and get Jensen to tangent on something like the amount of candy in the kitchen of his virtual home. She didn’t need to hear another conversation about the pros and cons of whipping cream versus ice cream in Misha and Jensen’s sex life. “Is there a night you don’t have to have your head buried in the computer to keep an eye on an experiment?”
Jensen’s eyes changed and the sharp jade that usually stared out at her began moving, like lines of light dancing over his retina. Alona was convinced if someone just recorded the motion of his eyes they’d find out that Jensen’s brain really did translate everything into binary.
“Tuesday,” Jensen said quietly. It was almost too soft to hear; Jensen’s mind was in the computer bank somewhere and his attention wasn’t with them enough to know how quietly he was speaking. She preferred the whisper to the times he would yell though. “Jared is free too.”
Jensen looked at her then and Alona smiled. “Good. I’ll tell Jeff to work it out with Jared.”
“Any particular reason?” Jensen asked.
Alona looked at him for a moment then sighed. “How can you be the smartest man in the universe and not know how to look at a freaking calendar?”
“I just used the calendar,” Jensen said with a frown.
“You do realize that your anniversary is coming up in two weeks, right?” When Jensen just stared at her she sighed. “Two years ago you and Jared finally figured it all out … happy couple … remember all that?”
Jensen blinked. “No. That’s not… No.”
Alona huffed. “Blow jobs aren’t enough for this shit, no matter how your lips look.” Jensen’s eyes went wide in surprise, not at her language but at the tendril of anger that was real in her words. He had no empathic abilities but eight years working hand in hand in the science lab had given him a little insight into her moods and Alona hoped it helped him realize she meant every word she said. “Two years, Jensen. Last year you were so caught up in Mather’s experiment that you forgot to have dinner with Jared. He let it go because he loves you but I’m not so forgiving. I really like Jared and Jeff thinks he hangs the damn moon when it comes to their patients so you better get your act together. Heavens help me if you don’t do something nice for your boyfriend this year, I will make sure you never get another hot shower again.”
Jensen gasped, because everyone knew how much he loved a long hot shower, and Misha just tilted his head to the side slightly. “Can you actually do that?”
Alona stood up and turned on her heels to walk away. She turned to look back at them, her smile sharp as she threw out, “Just try me.”
Jared stood on the observation platform and stared down into the maelstrom that was the largest science unit on Vortex. Jared knew his way around and he could find the men and women he needed to see but in the two years he'd been on the station he'd still never been able to figure out the organization of the experiments, tables, and equipment. He’d given up pretty quickly when he realized everything changed without warning whenever an experiment came to an end and space was gained/lost/moved/elevated to accommodate the ever changing science community. Today though - as often happened when Jared came into the lab - Jared's eyes were at the center of that storm.
Jensen Ackles; the man who ran the largest physics lab on the station and the man everyone wanted to get a minute with.
Jensen was surrounded by a group of men in white lab coats. They were talking fast, taking advantage of Jensen's undivided attention. Jared could only see Jensen from the side but he smiled anyway, taking in his lover’s strong profile. He and Jensen had been together almost as long as Jared had been on the space station. They met the first night Jared had come aboard and it was only a few weeks before he was completely, hopelessly in love with the scientist.
Jared had joined the vortex because of the importance of the work they did as well as the fact that it played into his own calling. Jared was a psychologist who specialized in long term space placement. The other endorsement that Vortex had that his other job offers hadn’t was the space station’s inclusive policies. It still surprised Jared some days to witness the different number of Gifted that walked the station’s halls. Jared had been intrigued by the station's inclusive policies towards typical humans and those with extraordinary abilities. Most places segregated the Gifted population into different living quarters and social clubs but the administrator of the Vortex station refused to do so. Misha Collins made sure that everyone got along and Jared counted himself lucky to have the man as a friend.
The men around Jensen dispersed with a nod from Jensen and suddenly Jared was looking into the intensity of Jensen’s gaze. He swallowed against the lump that formed in his throat from the sheer affection that Jensen felt when he recognized Jared from across the room.
Alona and Jeff teased him about his relationship with Jensen and Jared took it all in stride. Jensen wasn’t the easiest man to get to know, let alone to love, but they worked and no matter how rough Jensen’s personal skills were, nothing could take away the rush Jared got whenever he felt what Jensen felt for him.
It was more than that tonight though. As strong an empath as Jared was, Jensen had somehow found a way to use his own natural abilities to shield himself. When Jared pushed too hard to feel what Jensen was doing he came up against a wall of motion that made him nauseous. There was none of that tonight though and Jared knew Jensen was letting his guard down on purpose.
Then Jensen was smiling up at him and Jared was defenseless against it. He raised his hand in a pathetic wave that had to make him look like the lovesick sap that he was. Jensen grinned larger and Jared took a deep breath, etching the moment in his head.
“Stars, you two are sickening,” Alona said behind him. He felt his face flush as he dropped Jensen’s gaze and turned to look at his friend. She was smiling at him though and she wrapped an arm around his waist. “You here to take him off my hands for the night?” she asked.
He kissed the top of her head and answered into her hair. “Yeah. Figured you had enough to do tonight without having Jensen to shoo out of the lab at closing time.”
“Like he’d leave if I tried. I still don’t know how you manage to get him out of here.”
Jared laughed because she was still teasing him about Jensen’s blow job comment two weeks before. “I let him blow me a lot.”
Somehow, when Jared said it in her ear like that it made her blush and it was always nice to get one up on Alona. Jensen was far too free about their personal lives with her and she got to hear all of Jensen’s oddities over the course of the work day. It used to bother Jared that Jensen would talk to her like that, but over time Jared came to realize it was the best thing that could happen to them. Alona wasn’t above telling Jensen off for his lack of social grace and she told Jared the little things Jensen commented on that Jared would never have heard any other way. Like how Jensen had been afraid Jared would say no if he asked him to move in with him and how Jared asking him had meant something to Jensen.
“I hate you, Jared. I don’t know how Jeff deals with you.”
“Hey!” Jensen walked up the steps to the observation platform where Alona and Jared were talking. “Go get your own psychologist to torment.”
“Fine, I will.” Alona said as she disentangled herself from Jared’s side. “He still at the office?” she asked Jared for confirmation of her husband’s whereabouts.
“He seemed to think he was going to be working late tonight,” Jared confirmed. He loved Alona to pieces and her husband had the same easy going attitude that she did, though Jared would admit in his own head that Alona was far scarier than his boss. “You’ll take care of that right?”
Alona smiled but she didn’t say anything else as she walked away.
“You ready to get out of here?” Jensen asked Jared as he stepped closer. He brushed his lips lightly over Jared’s, surprising him with the public show of affection. It wasn’t a secret that Jared and Jensen were together, but Jensen wasn’t always aware that other people might want to hold hands in public or to share a kiss that wasn’t meant to lead to anything more.
Jared grinned as he looked down into his lover’s eyes. “Yeah, let’s go home.”
As they walked back from the science lab, Jensen decided they needed to stop for dinner. He pulled Jared into a new restaurant, something nice and more upscale than they normally went to. Jared let Jensen spoil him though, even though he knew Jensen didn’t remember that it was their anniversary. Two years ago they’d finally stopped dancing around the bond that had obviously grown between them and admitted to their growing attraction. It didn’t bother Jared that Jensen didn’t remember that sort of thing. Alona was Jensen’s best friend and it bothered her to no end though. How she managed to put up with him over the years was beyond Jared. She was Jensen’s greatest supporter, the one who cared for him when Jared couldn’t, and was the hardest on Jensen when it came to his shortcomings in his social interactions; especially his relationship with Jared. Jared understood how Jensen felt about him though so a missed anniversary didn’t matter to him. Not when Jensen was so damn good at expressing his affection for Jared in other ways.
Tonight was a perfect example as Jensen led them to a quiet corner in the back of the restaurant. Jared picked a bottle of wine for them to share and they settled into an easy meal together. Jensen took extra care to ask about Jared’s day and his work. It was one of the social niceties that Jensen wasn’t very good at. He loved Jared without doubt, but Jared had been frustrated more than once with Jensen’s inability to realize that some nights Jared needed Jensen to ask him about his work too.
It was common among the Gifted, with the exception of empaths and telepaths, to get too caught up in their own work that they forgot people around them had different wants and needs than they did. It was why most places segregated the population. Relationships between two Gifted people were more successful than mixed relationships simply because the talented tended to understand one another better. Jared had seen it in harsher light though and he’d had to deal with anti-talent hatred a few times. It was one of the reasons Jared had taken the job on Vortex. A fully integrated community was an experiment he wanted to see firsthand, and a blessing if it truly ran as well as everyone swore it had. And it did.
Dinner was delicious and Jensen was perfectly attentive. He told Jared stories about the other people in the lab but steered clear of any talk about their experiments. Jared listened to Jensen’s stories and shared his own and they laughed together.
They didn’t get the chance to do this often anymore. Jared’s schedule was full and Jensen was buried in the science lab late into most evenings. Jensen had plenty of his own experiments in the works, but as the head of the lab and the unit of scientists Jensen needed all the hours of the day to complete his work. Quite often, Jared had to go down to the lab and drag him home. Jensen used to stay in the labs for days on end, only going home to sleep a few hours every few nights and that was all his body needed. When Jared had come into Jensen’s life though, he’d demanded that Jensen spend time with him every night. It put a damper on Jensen’s productivity a little, but he normally returned to the lab with a renewed vigor - and improved attitude - so no one commented.
It had also lowered the number of times that Jensen randomly ported himself into Jared’s room without notice. Those nights, though scarce now, generally ended with no sleep but with Jensen wrapped around Jared in the dying light of the morning and Jared loved that it was his touch that comforted Jensen.
Tonight though there seemed to be no hurry as they ordered desert together and finished off a second bottle of wine. On the way home they walked leisurely through the park and to Jared’s surprise, Jensen held his hand the entire time.
When they got home, Jensen took his time stripping Jared of his clothes, leaving them in a trail from the living room into the bedroom. He lavished Jared with attention, covering every inch of Jared’s body with his fingers before he followed the path with his lips. When he pushed Jared back onto the bed Jensen followed, kissing him for so long Jared began to think they were just going to make out all night. He was fine with that, really because when Jensen devoted himself to something it was amazing, but then Jensen slid down his body, licking and biting his way down Jared’s torso.
“Keep this up long, Jensen, and I’m not going to last,” Jared breathed as Jensen licked at the base of his cock.
“Better make it short and sweet then,” Jensen said as he swallowed Jared’s cock down his throat. Jared bucked into the heat of his lover’s mouth and Jensen just took it, looking up at Jared with eyes that screamed mischief. Jared clawed at the sheets but before he could warn that he was close, Jensen pulled off. He climbed out of bed and slowly stripped his clothes off. All Jared could think about was getting his hands on Jensen but his lover was taking his time. Jared swallowed back the lust that wanted him to get out of bed and take Jensen up against the wall; instead, watching as Jensen dropped his pants to the floor, leaving him completely naked.
“Remember the first time, Jared?” Jensen asked slowly, crawling up Jared’s legs until he could kneel over Jared.
“You going to ride me again, Jensen?” he asked, breathlessly. Two years ago, when they’d made love for the first time, Jared had woken to find Jensen cooking them breakfast. He hadn’t know how Jensen had gotten into his room or when he had, but when confronted Jared had learned that Jensen had slipped into his bed to sleep. They were both past denying the bond that had developed between them then. Jeff and Alona had stayed on the two of them, making sure they understood that Jensen had reached out to Jared on some level to help ground himself against the powers that ruled him and that Jared had accepted that bond. The confrontation had ended with Jared on his back and Jensen - slicked open by his own hand in Jared’s shower while he’d slept - riding him.
Jensen smiled and it went all the way to his eyes, lines appearing at the side of each and Jared could stare into those eyes forever. “Just like the first time,” he said, taking Jared’s cock in hand as he began sliding down it.
Jared tried to say something coherent, but Jensen was already opened up and the image of Jensen fucking himself open to get ready for Jared made all the blood rush to his dick instead of his brain. Jensen gave a satisfied moan as he settled down against Jared’s hips. “Love you, Jared,” he said softly, leaning forward to brush a kiss across Jared’s lips. He brought his hands to rest beside Jared’s head and then he started to move, pulling away from Jared’s body ever so slightly before pushing back onto his lover’s cock.
“Stars, Jensen, the things you do to me,” Jared breathed against Jensen’s lips as he wrapped his hand around the back of Jensen’s neck and pulled him in.
Jensen licked his lips and Jared joined him, licking across the seam until Jensen opened to him. It didn’t take long, with Jensen kissing him breathless and writhing on his lap, before Jared felt the buildup of pressure. He reached between them and began stroking Jensen’s cock but as he did so he let down the personal shields that he kept up for everyone else. He opened his mind to Jensen and he felt the overwhelming love and compassion Jensen had for him, felt his own emotions rebounding back on himself and as Jensen tipped over the edge and into orgasm, Jared slid with him until there was no thought that wasn’t about the pure sensation between the two of them.
When Jared was finally able to breathe again, he looked at Jensen and found his lover smiling down on him. He kissed Jared before climbing off of him and then he was cleaning him up. When he settled back into bed beside Jared, Jensen nuzzled up against Jared’s neck, his arm slung across Jared’s chest. Jared closed him eyes, letting one hand slowly caress up and down Jensen’s back while his other hand cradled the back of his head, playing lightly with his hair.
“Did you think I forgot?” Jensen asked as he pressed a kiss into the spot behind Jared’s ear.
“Forgot what?” Jared asked. He wasn’t entirely on the top of his game at that moment. It had been a long day, starting early with appointments and he was never able to think clearly after making love to Jensen.
Jensen chuckled softly against Jared’s skin before he sat up on one elbow and looked at his lover. “I do have a calendar.”
Jared looked up at him and smiled softly as he realized what Jensen was saying. “Yes, I know you have a calendar.”
“And I know how to use it,” Jensen said, the corners of his lips turning up into a smile.
“I would assume so, considering the fact that you are the smartest man in the universe and that you can access any computer on the station without having to get out of bed.”
Jensen leaned in and gave Jared a soft kiss. “Happy anniversary, Jared.”
Jared pulled him down on top of him and couldn’t help but laugh with Jensen. He brought their lips together, kissing him playfully and when Jensen finally leaned back they were both grinning like idiots. And the smile right there? That was why Jared put up with all the social ineptitude and the missed anniversaries that Jensen would never remember. Alona could complain about the things that Jensen lacked in social skills but there was nothing that could ever mean more to Jared than the smile on Jensen’s lips and the look in his eyes.
Jared brought his hand up to cup Jensen’s cheek and smiled. “Happy anniversary, Baby.”
On to Part II